In our first workshop we thought about how Sandy Lane looked in the past. We read and discussed the stories told by project participants at Divine Days Community Arts Group who have been sharing their stories about growing up in old Sandy Lane during the war, back when Sandy Lane had two cinemas, a railway and carnivals. The children found their stories inspiring and it triggered discussion about all sorts of aspects of life in the past.
We also used photographs to inspire us. We talked about how 'every picture tells a story'... and we wondered what stories might be hidden in these photographs...
We studied this photograph and became Story Detectives, looking closely for clues and tiny details that might inspire our story telling. The photograph above is of the Banana Lake in Coronation Park. We asked questions about the picture - what is happening? What has just happened or is about to happen? What time of day is it? Who is the man standing in or kneeling beside the lake on the left? What might he be called? What is he doing there? How is he feeling? We then began to build a story together as a class. Once we had a basic framework, the pupils each wrote the story up in their own unique way.
We did the same with this photograph looking up old Sandy Lane, studied it closely for clues as to a story. The children noticed the boy striding away up the street. They also noticed a smashed window in the shop to the left of the picture. Together, we built a story framework about who the boy is, what has happened and what might happen next. The children then wrote the story, choosing how they wanted to tell it. The stories were so varied; each one original and well written. Well done to all the story detectives at St. Richard's - you are brilliant!
Many thanks to Chris who is looking after the Skelmersdale Heritage photograph archive and providing these and many other inspirational images for the project.
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